


Dad Sneeze

by deltachye



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Asian-American Character, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Japanese Shiro (Voltron), Reader-Insert, Romance, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-08-27 20:30:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 5,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8415640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deltachye/pseuds/deltachye
Summary: [reader x takashi shirogane, college!au] There were a few little traits of Takashi that reminded you of his father...





	1. 1 - He Yells, Even If You Can Hear Him Just Fine

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The 'stereotypes' that may be portrayed in the theme are not intended to be harmful; they are merely factors that I have seen attributed to (Southeast) Asian fathers, including my own! 

* * *

 

“So, what’s it like?”

“What’s _what_ like?” you asked, sipping your coffee. You friend leant in close, her eyes half-lidded with curiosity and mischief.

“Dating Shirogane, of course.”

You choked a little on the beverage and hacked out a couple of wet coughs, struggling to clear your airways. She chortled to herself as you sat, suffering, and leant back.

“ _That_ good, huh?”

“Don’t ask me weird questions like that, you perv!” you hissed, fanning the blush off of your face. The old man next to you raised his eyes skeptically and turned back to his e-reader, judgment written across his face. You wanted to tell him to stick it, but knew he was right in thinking you were a moron. Your friend merely giggled quietly to herself, examining her manicure.

“I mean, we’re all happy for you,” she continued shamelessly. “Damn. He’s hot.”

“Astute observation,” you commented dryly. “You have vision. Congratulations.”

“Does _he_ think it’s cute that you’re so touchy?” she asked. Halfway through her sassy comeback, your phone rang, and you ignored her to retrieve it from your pocket.

“Luck’s on your side; you can ask him yourself.” You turned away from her slightly and swiped right to answer. “Hello?”

“ _ **Hello**_?!”

You winced, pulling the phone away from your ear with a jerk. You lowered the volume on your phone to the minimum.

“Shiro, I can hear you just fine,” you hissed. “You don’t have to yell.”

“You sure?” he yelled.

“Yes,” you muttered testily, your ear throbbing, “I’m _sure_. What is it? Is something wrong?”

“Oh,” he shouted back through the phone, and you were pretty sure the entire coffee shop was staring at you. “I needed to ask you where you put the plunger. Because like, there’s a problem—”

“In the cupboard on the right,” you said hurriedly in a hushed whisper, feeling heat crawl up your neck with self-consciousness. “Is that all?!”

“What, you don’t want to talk to me?” he asked (or hollered) jokingly. At this point you didn’t know whether he was doing it just to piss you off or not. You inhaled deeply.

“I would love to _talk_ to you, not have a _yelling_ competition. You do this all the time!”

“I do not.”

“You were so loud at the store that the lady had to come and tell you to be quiet. You’re banned from the library. Two of them!”

“Well… I’m sure that lady was just sensitive. And no, the Central branch lifted their ban on me, so I’m only banned from _one_ library.”

“Point is, Shiro, you talk too loudly over the phone. I’m going to hang up now, okay? I’ll see you later.”

“Wait.”

“What?” you asked hesitantly, feeling the regret hovering over your shoulder.

“ _I love you_!” he bellowed as loudly as he could, deliberately, before hanging up on you. His laugh was cut off by the busy tone. You lowered your phone slowly and hid your face in your hands as conversation in the small shop resumed, the showcase of your humiliation having come to a close.

“He’s a keeper,” you friend snickered. “He yell like that in bed?”

“ _Shh_.”


	2. 2 - He's Really Into His Health.

The university that you went to was pretty prestigious. As such, its accommodations were the best of the best. However the school’s dormitory functions were fairly limited due to a stretched capacity, so you were forced to reside off-campus. Yet, this worked out to your favour, seeing as there were no rules restricting opposite sex roommates in the local apartment building. 

Still, you found yourself to be at a slight disadvantage when your boyfriend invited himself to live with you. 

Firstly, he would wake up at some god-awful hour in the morning. He made a big fuss about getting out of bed, too. He’d stretch and yawn and then he’d blast the radio to ‘pump himself up for the day’. It was completely, totally impossible to sleep through that. After he left the bedroom, you would try to go back to sleep… but he would turn on the blender. The really loud, decade old blender that shook the walls. Why? To make some god-awful health shakes that were greener than one would think to be edible. 

Takashi Shirogane was a 4.1 GPA health nut. You were a quadruple S (Sad, Stressed, and Struggling Student) that lived on nothing but cup noodles and tap water. Opposites really do attract.

After he made his disgusting shake, he’d leave for a run. By that time you had already been awake for too long to get back to sleep. Shiro had the nerve to leave you some of his weird juice, too. You’d tried it once and just about threw it right back up. Despite it all, his runs managed to make you even grumpier, since he always made it back just in time to beat you to the single shower. 

“Can you like… not?” you asked one morning as he towelled himself off. He blinked at you cheerfully, raising an eyebrow. You didn’t know how he could look so alive when it was still 7. 

“You could benefit from trying out my routine, y’know. My mom sent me all of these herbs from Japan! Look, this is supposed to help your skin out…” Shiro started pulling out plastic bags of odd medicinal herbs that looked like it was supposed to make a witch’s potion. “If you boil this with this, it’ll help you sleep better. And this—”

“Shiro?” you interrupted, your head spinning with the sight of cricket feet. 

“Yeah?”

“Here’s the deal. You do you and I’ll do me, okay? But you’ve gotta let me shower first every morning. And buy you a quieter blender.”

He smiled slightly with known defeat, the lopsided grin showing off a bit of his teeth. “You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Because _this_ tea is supposed to help with dark circles, and—”

“I’m leaving! And drink the rest of your disgusting juice, I don’t want it!”


	3. 3 - He Kills the Ping-Pong Game

“Hey, Shirogane!”

Shiro perked up at the sound of his name and grinned at his classmates. They were also his teammates on the same varsity volleyball team he played in during his freshman year. The season was over but they still talked often enough. He shook hands with them all. 

“Hey, guys. What’s up?”

“Nothing much. Gilchrist’s upcoming exam is actually going to be the death of me, but what’s new?”

They all shared a laugh and made meaningless chatter before the wing spiker gestured at Shiro. 

“Hey, is it true, Shiro? That you’re dating [Name] [Surname]?”

“Um… no,” Shiro replied, though the question put him on edge. The girl was familiar to him, and he hoped that she at least thought of him as a friend… but they weren’t dating or anything close to that. Yet. “Why?”

“I heard some rumours going around,” the wing spiker said with visible relief, a smile lighting up his boyish face. “This is great though. If you’re not dating her, I’m gonna try and ask her out!”

Shiro’s blood went a little cold and he slowed his walking pace. “Ah. You are?”

“Yeah, I mean… she’s in my physics class, right? And she’s just so cute and helpful. Did you know she has these little sticky notes with—”

“Drawings on them? Yeah, I know.” His tone sounded cold, even to him, and he hastily wiped the grimace off of his face. 

“Whoa Shiro!” one of the other guys—a middle blocker—said with mild surprise. A shifty grin had appeared on the guy’s face. He was known for being a smartass player, being able to read people’s body language in a heartbeat—and the psychology major could probably tell exactly what Shiro was feeling. “Gettin’ jealous?”

“Course not,” Shiro lied. The middle blocker’s smile just grew wider before he spotted something ahead.

“Hey, a ping pong table. You both are pretty good at table tennis, right?”

“I made it to nationals in high school,” the wing spiker said with a little shrug. He looked to Shiro, who also shrugged nonchalantly.

“Then,” the middle blocker suggested, “why don’t the both of you play for [Name]?”

“What?” the wing spiker exclaimed. Shiro agreed, scowling slightly.

“You can’t just ‘play ping pong’ for a girl. That’s cruel, man.”

“Hey, I’m just saying. Whoever wins can ask her out first, and if she rejects you, tough cheese. This’ll just eliminate any future fights between you guys. You in or you out?”

The wing spiker shot a glance at Shiro, giving him an obvious up-and-down. He turned to the middle blocker and nodded, throwing his messenger bag down on the ground and rolling out his neck.

“I’m in.”

“Shiro?”

He sighed, also setting his backpack down on the ground. He smiled wryly. “Guess I don’t have a choice.”

It was an easy set-up and he bounced the paddle up and down in his hands. The peeling rubber was less than favourable, but he readied himself anyways. He had a goal to meet today. 

The first serve that came from his opponent was pretty good. It had a powerful spin that curved it into an unpredictable location—only, Shiro predicted it, and hit it back so hard that it bounced off of the wing spiker’s forehead. The other guy of the crew marked down the point with a low whistle. Shiro couldn’t help a smug grin.

It was a devastating game. Although the wing spiker had made some points, it was a landslide victory. The spiky haired boy groaned and tossed the paddle onto his table, glaring begrudgingly at Shiro. Still, they shook hands.

“You really like her, huh?” the wing spiker acknowledged quietly as they went to pick up their bags. Shiro shrugged casually.

“Well, I’m just really good at ping pong,” he said with a light laugh. “I don’t like losing.”

“There’s no way she’d reject you! You’re Mr. Perfect, Shiro.” The wing spiker shook his head but grinned up at Shiro, punching him in the shoulder lightheartedly. “But I guess I’ll live with it. If you break her heart, I’ll hit you with a table tennis paddle so hard that you’ll find yourself in Canada.”

“I won’t break her heart,” Shiro promised resolutely.


	4. 4 - He Swears (And Sings!) in Japanese

“Kuso!”

“Teme—”

“Ahou! Ahou ahou ahou!”

“Shiro?” you asked, stifling a laugh.

“Na—what?”

“Why are you swearing in Japanese?”

“You’re distracting me! Ah, _shimatta_ —”

You laughed again as you passed through the Mario Kart finish line (first, as always). He threw his controller down in frustration, throwing his head back with a loud groan.

“Cheater,” he mumbled. You scooted over on the couch and curled your arms around him, resting your head on his chest.

“I still beat you even though I laughed so hard I starting crying. Therefore, you have no excuse. You’re like an old crotchety grandpa, you know?”

“Am not.”

You pulled away to clear away the game, before remembering something. You grinned at him slyly.

“Don’t think I can't hear you singing vocaloid songs in the shower, too. I really like how you do Hatsune Miku’s voice.”

He threw the nunchuk at you, muttering something else that you had learnt—and it really should not be repeated.


	5. 5 - He Drives Too Slow Or Too Fast

Because you were torn between paying rent and tuition, you hadn’t really thought about buying a car. It didn’t seem worth it at the time. When Shiro had come into your life, you had basically pounced on his car (and license) and hired him unofficially as your chauffeur. You didn’t have a license yourself, so it wasn’t as if you could borrow his car… but god, was it even legal to drive 50 on an 80 mph road?

“Shiro,” you pleaded, tugging on your seatbelt anxiously as if that might make him drive faster. “I’m going to be late for class!”

“Then you shouldn’t have slept in and missed the bus,” he responded simply, his tone upbeat despite the honking that came from all sides. He was right. You’d missed the alarm and all the express buses had left the station. Shiro’s classes started later, and he agreed to drive you down to campus a little early so that you could make your astrophysics lecture. At this rate, you weren’t sure if you would make it to school by the next century. He hummed to himself casually, his toe inching the gas so that you were now going 51.

“Shiroooo,” you moaned, slamming your head back into the headrest. “Please, can’t you at least go 70?”

“It’s safer to drive slow.”

“It’s not snowing or raining or anything. Please!”

“Driver’s rules.”

You were ready to start kicking your feet in a tantrum but sank back into your seat, admitting defeat. You would set four alarms tomorrow morning. Five! You reached for the radio glumly. If you were going to be sitting here for half an hour, you might as well listen to some music. Shiro slapped your hand away sharply.

“What the heck? It’s just the radio.”

“It’s distracting. I need to focus on the road.”

“Focus on what?” you mumbled. “Not going over 50 miles per hour on an 80 mile per hour road?”

Suddenly, as if to scold your spiteful mutterings, you were hit with sudden whiplash as Shiro gunned the engine of his Honda Accord.

“What the hell?!” you shrieked as he blazed through an intersection, a car braking hard to avoid slamming into your passenger side door. The honks went on for ages and you clutched your chest, breathing heart with the adrenaline of near death. You rubbed your neck and glared fiercely at Shiro, who acted as if nothing happened. “Yellow means slow down to stop, not _go faster and pray you’ll make it!_ ”

“We made it, didn’t we? Besides, I’m the driver, and you don’t even have a license.”

“The state made a mistake with you,” you groaned, rubbing both sides of your aching neck.

“I’m going to drive at 49.” And he did.

That was it. You’d set _six_ alarms and try to get your own license as soon as possible.


	6. 6 - He's extremely good at Chinese chess.

You’d never been really good at board games. They turned into ‘bored games’ for you and you often found yourself sleeping, having to be woken up every time it came to your turn. Which is why you were so unimpressed when Shiro slammed a board game down in front of you.

“It’s not a _game_!” he argued, rapping his knuckles fondly on the wood playing board. “It’s a strategy game designed to test general’s wits to the limit. It’s probably helped people win lots of battles!”

“Neither of us are generals,” you responded curtly. “And the only battle I’m fighting is one for my grades. I’m gonna go to bed early.”

He stopped you by actually shoving you into the chair, slamming a round piece down in front of you. It clacked against the wood so sharply you feared it would shatter. 

“This!” he said in a cheerful voice that also said ‘get up and you die’. “Is the elephant! It goes like this.” He slid it around and you groaned, putting your head in your hands.

That was how you were forced to sit and learn the rules of Chinese chess from Shiro. Whenever you forgot how a piece moved, he didn’t even show the slightest bit of impatience, teaching it to you again. 

“What’s this?” he asked, picking up one of the pieces.

“General.”

“This?”

“Scholar. Soldier. Cannon. Horse. Car.”

“Good,” he said approvingly, nodding once you had identified them all correctly. “Now we can play.”

“Shiro,” you groaned. “I just learnt this in five minutes and you’re expecting to play me?”

“I could play myself, but it’d be more fun to destroy you. I’ll teach you as we go, okay? Move your first piece.”

Obligingly, but grudgingly, you reached for one of the soldiers. Shiro made a small noise in his throat and you froze.

“What?”

“Nothing. If you want to move that piece you can.”

“So I shouldn’t?”

“Well, if you want to, you can do whatever you like.”

That passive-aggressive guidance lasted all night until finally, you gave up, irritated to the point where you might’ve flipped the board into his face. He laughed at you, clearing the board as you crossed your arms, seething.

“I learnt how to play from my dad. You did pretty good for a first-timer. Better than I did, anyways.”

“I bet you could’ve kicked my ass even back then. I get it,” you muttered, rolling your eyes. “You’re super good at everything, yada yada.”

He leant forwards and kissed you on the forehead, shutting your spiteful mumbling up completely.

“My best thing is that I’ve got you.”

Checkmated.


	7. 7 - He Sneezes So Loudly You Can Hear Him A Mile Away

Now that finals week was finally over, you could actually sleep more than two hours a night. Shiro’s courses had their exams schedules after yours, so while you were free, he was still up studying. You gave him a good night kiss and went to the bedroom, wishing him luck. The bed felt so nice when you weren’t constantly worrying about impending failure. Sleep came quickly.

**_Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!_ **

You jerked yourself awake, going so far as to roll out of the bed with shock. You sat up groggily. What the hell was that? Gunshots?! The thought struck fear into your heart and you scrambled to your feet, throwing open the door. Shiro’s light was still on in the living room and you slipped around in your socks, peering into the room. He blew his nose and looked up at you curiously.

“Hey, [Name]. What are you doing up?”

“What… did you sneeze?”

“Yeah. Three times for good luck, right?”

“You sneeze that loudly?” You were trying to calm down your racing heart, clasping a hand over your chest. “My god.”

“Sorry for waking you up,” he apologized sheepishly. You shook your head and walked to the couch, picking up a blanket. You set it around his shoulders and kissed the top of his head.

“Don’t get sick, okay?” Then, you added, “if you get sick and sneeze like that all the time, I don’t think I’ll be able to keep my sanity.”

“Okay,” he muttered with a slight laugh. He blinked and then screwed up his nose, leaning back with his tissue in one hand. You slapped both hands over his mouth, but even that did not muffle the thunder of his next three sneezes. 

“You still love me, right?” he called after you jokingly as you walked back to the bedroom. You turned and smiled.

“Only with a pair of earplugs, dear.”


	8. 8 - He'll Drop Anything For A Sale

“I can’t believe I actually got sick…”

“That’s what you get for staying up so late, studying all the time. It’s not good for you!” You passed him his warm cup of tea and he groaned, accepting it from you.

“Now what am I going to do? It’s not as if they’re going to reschedule the exam for me.”

He sounded so weak and defeated that you felt genuinely sorry for him for the first time in… well, ever. You ran a hand through his hair to comfort him, giving him a smile.

“Well, you have three days, right? If you just focus on recovering, I’m sure you’ll be fine in time for the exams.”

“How come _you_ don’t get sick when you literally don’t go to sleep until 4?” he asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes with a small, envious pout that looked too cute on his face. “Do you even know what a vegetable _is_?”

“Maybe I was just blessed,” you responded haughtily, brushing off your pants and getting to your feet. “I’m gonna be in the living room if you need anything.”

His phone chimed and you passed it to him as you were leaving the bedroom. Shiro shuffled around in the bedding and suddenly gasped loudly. You turned to see what the problem was, but he had already bolted past you, the ‘I’m so sick I can barely talk’ Shiro left behind completely. 

“Shiro?!” you yelped, bewildered. “What is it?”

“There’s a sale on toilet paper! I’ve gotta go!”

“ _Now_?!” you cried as he pulled his car keys off the hook. “You have notifications for sales? And you’re going to go shopping _now_?”

“I’ll be back soon!” he called, already sprinting down the hall. You closed your eyes and exhaled. For once, would he just take care of himself, and _not_ the shopping…?

“I forgot!”

The shout seemed distant and you realized Shiro was running back. The door didn’t lock automatically and he crashed back in, looking around for you. You made a face.

“Forgot your wallet, Penny Pincher?’ you teased, but he jogged up to you and planted a kiss on the top of your head, shutting you up.

“I don’t want you to get sick, but I didn’t want to forget to say bye.” He grinned before snapping his fingers. “But yeah, I forgot my wallet. Be right back!”

You rolled your eyes but moved to the kitchen with a soft smile, setting to work on making some chicken noodle soup for when he got back from his toilet paper run.


	9. 9 - He's Super Cheap And Will Bargain Where Bargaining is Not Acceptable

“Three dollars?! I’m sorry, but that’s too much. Maybe two-fifty.”

“Sir…”

“Okay, not having it? I see how it is. I’ll be willing to take them at two-seventy-five, then, but no higher than that. Deal?”

“Shiro,” you pleaded. “Stop! You can’t—”

“What do you mean I can’t?” he asked, whirling to turn on you. “This is a liberated country and I think the three dollars for a tray of mediocre nacho chips is way too much! I’m speaking my mind, here. Don’t tell me you want to obstruct my freedom of thought?”

“Okay, one: freedom of thought doesn’t apply here. Two: you can’t bargain at a _store_!”

The sales clerk looked like he sincerely was ready to quit, his eyes deep sockets of exhaustion. Shiro had been at this for longer than you thought was logically feasible and you yanked on his arm.

“Pay the guy three dollars!” you hissed through gritted teeth. “Please!”

“Fine,” Shiro agreed reluctantly, tossing the paper bills at the clerk, who rolled his eyes with a heavy sigh. Shiro allowed you to drag him away from curious eyes, complaining the entire way. “Honestly, it’s my hard earned money. The corporations are big enough without preying on us working class people, right? So I think—”

“Shiro,” you interrupted. “You can haggle all you want at a garage sale. _Not_ in the grocery store. _Please_.”

“I’m just saying…”


	10. 10 - He Does Calculations In His Head In 0.001 Seconds

It was something you had come to dread regularly. Dinner with Shiro was always fantastic and you cherished the days you could spend time with him dearly… but, he always made sure to ask you the question:

“What’s the bill?”

“I don’t know,” you groaned. “I need to use a calculator, or at least have some pen and paper.”

“None of those crutches! Come on, it’s easy! If the blue plates are 3.75 and the silver are 3.95—”

“I’m not doing it!” you rejected immediately. “I’m passing in Calculus and Stats so it doesn’t matter whether or not I can add up the bill in my head or not.”

“Yes, it does. This is real world applications! If you just—”

“Can I get the bill for you two?” the waiter asked, interrupting his heated reply. Shiro sighed at you but smiled at the waiter.

“It rings up to 32.21 with taxes, thanks.”

The waiter blinked and wrote the plate count down on his sheet, before keying it into his portable card reader.

“You’re right. You’re very good at math, sir!” After he left, Shiro grabbed his jacket off his chair, winking at you.

“Well, the only equation I need to know is this. Me plus you equals true love, right?”

“That was…” You inhaled sharply. “So, _so_ awful. I never want to hear you say that ever again.”

“What?! That’s gold! Come on, I don’t want to hear such spite from a person who can’t even add up the bill.”

You allowed him to catch up to you and curled yourself around his arm snugly, your breath fogging up in the cold winter air. Despite the frigid weather, your face still felt hot from what he’d said.

“I guess I can agree with your formula,” you admitted. “But don’t say it out loud again. That’s too embarrassing.”

“Me plus you—ow!”


	11. 11 - He Gets Excited Over Trivial Things

“Oh my _God_!”

The sudden hoarse yelling coming from the kitchen had you upright and bolting out of the bedroom before you even had the chance to wake up. Something was wrong and you had to help!

“What is it?” you gasped, out of breath from the combination of sickly panic and running. “Shiro, what is it?!” You were fully expecting a robber to be standing in the doorway, or _worse_ —instead, you saw your boyfriend squatting in front of the stove, turning to look at you with wonder-filled eyes.

“Our oven has convection?! How come I never knew that!”

“…you’re… you’re kidding me, right?” You just about collapsed onto the floor, holding onto the edge of the island kitchen for dear support. “You start yelling at—” a quick look at your watch, “—12:31 AM because of our _oven_?”

“That’s not all!” Brightly, as if time didn’t affect him at all, he brandished his arm out to the countertop next to the fridge. Your weary, university-student-level-of-tired gaze followed.

“You bought… three full bags of grapefruits?”

“They were on sale. Isn’t that sweet?! Man, life is great.” He chuckled heartily and you might’ve tried to dropkick him if a) he wouldn’t be able to deflect it and b) you weren’t so dead tired.

“I’m going back to bed,” you declared, turning around.

“Wait! I haven’t even told you about the dollar I found on the street as I was walking home!”


	12. 12 - He Has Horrible Fashion Sense and Does the Asian Dad Walk

“I’m ready to go!” you chirped, stepping out of the bedroom. For today’s date you had decided to go all out for once, ditching the sweats and pizza-stained hoodies for a cute dress and platform heels. 

“Cool. I’ll get the keys.”

You smiled just hearing his voice. You didn’t know how lucky you were to find yourself with somebody who could make you happy with the mere thought of his existence, but here you were, grinning like an idiot just by thinking about spending time with him. Midterms had passed and exam break was in full swing, so you and Shiro finally had time for each other. However, he walked past you, and your smile froze on your face.

“Shiro?”

“Yeah, what’s up? Forget anything?”

“What. Are. You. _Wearing_?”

He glanced down at his outfit bewilderedly, giving you a strange look. “What’s wrong with it?”

“You’re…” You put your face in your hands in inhaled deeply. “You’re wearing orange crocs. With _socks_. And you have a visor? And what the hell is that vest?! Are those the pants you slept in? Shiro, you’re not eighty years old!”

“Hey!” he protested, “it’s _sunny_. And crocs are comfortable, but they have holes. So you have to wear socks so that your toes don’t get cold! And yeah, I _did_ sleep in this, so what?”

“You can’t wear that outside!” you countered, “you look terrible!”

“Oh, so that’s how it is!” he sneered sassily, crossing his broad arms. “You think I’m not good looking enough for you?”

“No! That’s not what I mean, I just… fine. Can you please ditch the crocs and visor?”

“Nope. My house, my rules.” He turned to go and you knew you were defeated despite the battle not having been fought yet.

“We _share_ the house. And it was mine before you barged in,” you muttered bitterly, before sighing deeply. Despite the fact it was embarrassing, Shiro was the man you loved, so you’d endure it if not to see him smile at your red face. He grinned with satisfaction as not to let you forget victory and held the door open for you, walking forwards ahead after you locked the door behind the both of you.

“Shiro!” you complained in a hushed voice. “Don’t walk with your hands behind your back, you look so old!”

“This is how my dad walks. Is it not _cool_ enough for you?”


	13. 13 - He's Stronger Than He Looks

When you told people that your boyfriend could probably crush your skull by clapping his hands together, they laughed.

“He’s barely six foot. Yeah, he’s muscly and that, but he’s no John Cena or Rock.”

“He might as well be,” you told them with a dead straight face. “I dare you to arm wrestle him.”

Some of your friends from Sociology were body builders and gladly took you up on that. They laughed when Shiro waved politely and said hello. Then they left, sore losers; but they were only sore from the grip Shiro had given them. It had always given you a sense of pride in your boyfriend—he was the underdog. As an Asian male he hardly got any attention in the world of sports, but he was a star athlete, proving people wrong wherever he went. He was first in his studies, too, but it always surprised people when they realized how many mountains Shiro had already climbed. 

“You’re slowing down, Shiro!” you chided, flipping the page of your heavy Anatomy textbook. “Keep up the pace or I’ll stack another textbook on!”

The rough movements of his push-ups made reading a little hard, but you’d gladly volunteered to be his weight. He snorted with a mixture of exasperation and amusement, but quickened all the same.

“Just because I open all the pickle jars for you doesn’t mean you get to use me as your muscle man,” he complained, his voice choppy from each push up that he completed perfectly. You swung your legs off and sat in front of him, kissing his sweaty forehead as he rose back up.

“Reward enough for you?” you teased. “Incentive: double or nothing.” 

He grinned.

“I’ll bet triple.”


	14. 14 - He Takes Impromptu Photos Of You From All Angles

If there was something Shiro lacked, in comparison to all of his good traits—it was that he never turned off his ringer. 

_Snap!_

“Shiro,” you groaned, hardly bothering to look up from your notes. “I can tell that you’re trying to take sneaky candid photos of me.”

“Damn. That was louder than I thought. Anyways, stay still. Don’t look up.”

You looked up and he took another photo, before taking a couple steps to the left and taking another.

“What are you doing?” you complained. “I look like trash right now, and you’re taking photos?”

“If you’re trash, then the world is your garbage can, because you always look beautiful.” He said this while taking a burst of what sounded like a solid 20 photos. You wanted to scowl but his words had warmed your heart. You pressed your lips together instead and rolled your eyes, looking back down. 

_Snap!_ It came from behind you this time, and you really worried that he might circle around to the front once more.

“Okay, fine! I accept the compliment! But _please_ stop taking the _same_ photo from so many angles!”


	15. 15 - He'll Love You Unconditionally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and leaving comments/kudos! ♥

The day was warmer than you expected it to be for winter. In fact, the snow had practically melted, and you saw Shiro putting on a toque. He noticed you and grinned.

“Gonna go out for a run!” he said as he passed by you, “so don’t wait up to eat. I’ll be back by lunch.”

“Wait, um, Shiro? Can I tell you something before you go?” you blurted out. This was a better opportunity than any to spill the guts, because if he got mad at you, you could easily ask that he go out running to blow off steam. And, while he was out, you could take the keys and bail. Cowardice was not one of your favourite redundancy plans, but your news weighed down on you like a heavy stone, and you swallowed thickly. 

“What’s up?” he asked, his brow furrowing once he noticed your expression. “Is something wrong?”

“Well… no. Yes. I mean… God, I have no idea how to say this.” Tears started to well in your eyes and you had to swipe them away, looking up to the ceiling in the hopes that they would go away. He took a step towards you before hesitating when you flinched away.

“I’ll listen,” he said softly. He went to the island kitchen and sat, patting the stool next to him. You took your seat and sniffled, trying to pick out words from the swirling mess of your mind to put something coherent together. Shiro, being the ever patient, ever loving man he was, waited quietly.

“I’d be okay if you wanted to leave… after I tell you this. You might be better off without me.”

“Don’t say that,” he said immediately, his voice flaring up with a temper you had never heard from him. He frowned at you. “I would never leave you for anything. I love you. You know that. So… what is it?”

“I’m…” you inhaled. “I’m pregnant.”

“You’re… what?” He looked only mildly confused and you took another shaky breath to steel yourself for the loss of the only man you had ever loved this much. 

“Pregnant. With your kid. I’m pretty sure, I mean… I went to take a test and I haven’t been getting my period so I was like ‘oh no’ and the doctor was like yup your results are positive and then I didn’t know what to do because we’re not married so I don’t know if your parents will hate me my parents will probably kill me and oh G—”

He wrapped you up in his arms before you could start to cry for real and rubbed your back, shushing you. You closed your eyes and selfishly accepted the embrace. He was too good for you. Why did he bother with you? You were an average, struggling student who had 3 bucks in her pocket and a GPA reflecting that amount. He was smart, strong, and the image of perfection. Why would he want to stay with you when you’d only hold him back from doing great things? Especially with the kid, now... Shiro would feel obligated to stay, but you would hate yourself forever if you didn’t let him fulfill his true potential.

“I’ll take my things and leave,” you choked out, the mere thought causing your heart to seize up. “You can keep the place.” You tried to push away from him weakly, but he just tightened his hold on you.

“Why would you do that? I’m not going to leave you… But you’re serious? I’m going to be a dad, for real?”

You pulled away from him and looked at his lopsided grin, genuine and so ‘him’ that you were stunned into silence. He… wanted to stay with you? He wanted to have this child… with _you_?

“For real,” you breathed hesitantly. “You’re going to be a dad… for real.”

He hugged you again, carefully avoiding your stomach area, focusing the bone-crushing joy he felt to your shoulders. He laughed, the sound pure in your ears. The guilt and fear you had been feeling the past month melted away.

“I’m going to be a dad!” he cheered exuberantly, making you wince slightly. You laughed, the tears falling from your eyes now those of joy.

“You’ll be great,” you corrected. “You’re going to be a great dad.”

Fondly, he kissed you, burning away any other shame or self-doubts that might’ve lingered. You felt warm in his unconditional love, and for once, you were confident that things were going to work out okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Elsewhere: https://goo.gl/yuSYqd


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